Plaintext: Military History, Infosec Edition

Welcome to Dark Reading in Plaintext, where each day we bring you insights around one topic important to cybersecurity professionals. Today, we talk about military lessons that are relevant to cybersecurity professionals. Enjoy the newsletter? Subscribe to get it in your inbox!

Applying the Art of War to InfoSec

"The greatest victory is that which requires no battle," so said the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. These words, uttered almost a millennium and a half ago, are very relevant to cybersecurity. The best defense is to avoid an attack in the first place. With the right architecture and approach, it's possible to shield your environment from the cybersecurity arms race so that when the attacker strikes, you simply aren't there, Lisa Lorenzin (Zscaler) and Gregory Simpson (former Synchrony Financial, former GE) said, as they translate the Art of War into infosec concepts. [Read more at How Sun Tzu’s Wisdom Can Rewrite the Rules of Cybersecurity]

World History Through an Infosec Lens. Perhaps the Art of War is a little too far back in ancient history to feel relevant. Let’s jump forward 500 years or so to Normandy in 1204, where the French laid siege to the English at Chateau Gaillard for eight long months. As Rob Gurzeev (CyCognito) tells it, the French finally took the castle after they sent soldiers through the sewers to get past the castle defenses and into the chapel in the inner castle. “A medieval special-ops team snuck through this opening and set fire to the inner castle,” Gurzeev said. [Read More at Defending the Castle: How World History Can Teach Cybersecurity a Lesson]

“As a former military officer, I think it's particularly instructive to look at military battles from the cybersecurity defender's perspective. Military battles bring direct lessons and, I find, often serve as a reminder that attack surface blind spots have been an Achilles' heel for defenders for a long time.“

“They [military battles] remind us that we have to rethink our assumptions, habits, and biases to operate at our best.”

Rob Gurzeev, CyCognito

Make Leaders. While the military values soldiers who follow orders and do what they are told, they also cultivate leaders. Quite a few military veterans have moved onto become cybersecurity founders. TAG Cyber’s Ed Amoroso said the founder’s belief system was an important predictor of a startup’s success. As an example, he talked about the belief system of retired Army general Keith Alexander, co-founder of IronNet Cybersecurity (and served as?director of the National Security Agency, chief of the?Central Security Service, and commander of the?United States Cyber Command). [Read More at 3 Predictors of Cybersecurity Startup Success]

“If you ask founders such as Gen. Alexander why they started the company, they will point to their lifelong commitment to protecting their country, whether in uniform, on the physical battlefield, or across virtual networks.”

Ed Amoroso, TAG Cyber.

From Military to Startup Life. Sevco Security’s JJ Guy, Query.ai’s Andrew Maloney, and NetRise’s Tom Pace parlayed their military experiences into security startups. They talk about how being in the military taught them accountability, paying attention to the details, and being direct and transparent – all things that are important as founders of cybersecurity startups. [Read More at Military Vets Share Lessons That Helped Them Build Infosec Startups]

Headlines on Tap

• Internet Explorer is officially dead. Well, not really. Remember how many years it took for Flash to die?
• The US Department of Justice is working with its European Union counterparts to fight the scourge that is ransomware.
• Speaking of ransomware, files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive can still be encrypted in an attack, Proofpoint warns.

Register for Dark Reading Virtual Event, How Data Breaches Happen and What to Do When They Happen, on June 23, to learn more about defenses and response. Stay tuned, as we introduce some of the speakers in the newsletter.

On That Note

Speaking of sieges, enjoy this gem from our cartoon archives.

Get those creative juices flowing, as the Edge Cartoon Contest is still open for a few more days. Winning submission wins a $25 gift card!